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FYI
The American Institute of Physics Bulletin of Science Policy News
Number 63: May 14, 2003

Report Advocates Changing the Culture of Science and Math Education

"Continued innovation and growth in our economy depend substantially
on the quality and size of the professional technical labor force,"
say the authors of a new report from the Committee for Economic
Development (CED).  "The increasing complexity of daily life also
requires a citizenry that is scientifically literate," they
continue.  "Improving the quality of math and science education in
America is a critical first step toward both of those goals."  Their
report proposes ways of changing the culture of science and math
education to encourage greater interest and motivation on the part of
both students and teachers. 

The Committee for Economic Development is a non-profit, non-partisan
organization of over 200 business leaders and university presidents.
The report, "Learning for the Future: Changing the Culture of Math
and Science Education to Ensure a Competitive Workforce," is a policy
statement by the CED's Research and Policy Committee.  It frames the
improvement of science and math education as an issue of importance
to the nation's labor market, economic growth, and national
security.  Its recommendations are aimed at the private sector,
educators, and state and local governments.  In his keynote speech
for the report's release, Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) commented, "The
business leaders at CED understand first hand how deteriorating math
and science education and steep decreases in qualified science and
math professionals can not only hurt business.  It can undermine our
nation's long-term economic performance, security, and global
position." 

The report acknowledges that many efforts are currently underway to
enhance science and math education, and it cites a number of previous
reports on this subject.  "Our mission, in large part," the report
states, "is to support these experiments, help to scale them up, and
to encourage the business community to be a fully-fledged partner in
these efforts."  While many previous reports have focused on "supply
side"issues such as resources, this report says, "CED also believes
that improving the nation's math and science education will require
change on the demand side as well, that is, the way our nation's
young people regard these disciplines.  Too often, they are dismissed
as too hard, too inaccessible, too elitist, too boring, or too
unfashionable."  An important element of the report's recommendations
is encouraging more women and traditionally underrepresented
minorities to pursue S&T careers. 

The report "strongly supports the nationwide movement towards
standards and accountability" and urges that those states that have
adopted such programs "be considered models."  Because federally-
mandated math and reading assessments are to begin this year, while
assessments in science are not required until the 2007-8 school year,
the report warns  that "increased attention and resources focused on
math and reading could come at the expense of science teaching and
learning."  It encourages states to "work proactively to ensure that
science education is not neglected," and urges "the federal
government to provide grants to states that seek to develop and/or
revise science standards and assessments." 

The report contains a number of useful statistics on K-12 student
science and math achievement, age and qualifications of teachers,
production of science and engineering degrees, and expected job
growth in S&T fields.  It lays out three main challenges to be
addressed: Increasing Student Interest in Math and Science to Sustain
the Pipeline; Demonstrating the Wonder of Discovery While Helping
Students to Master Rigorous Content; and Acknowledging the
Professionalism of Teachers.  Specific recommendations are then
provided for each challenge.  Some of those recommendations are
summarized below: 

CHALLENGE ONE: Increasing Student Interest in Math and Science to
Sustain the Pipeline:  School districts should ensure that their
curricula engage students, promote active learning, and align with
state and local standards.  Schools should also replicate programs
proven to effectively support high science and math achievement among
underrepresented groups.  Businesses should support, and encourage
employee support of, extracurricular science and math activities,
contribute to enhancements of the school district's curricula "that
integrate state-of-the-art applications," and highlight job
opportunities available to S&T professionals.  Colleges and
universities should consider the quality of teaching in their
introductory science and engineering classes, ensure that grading in
these fields is fair and aligned with other departments and courses,
and increase their communication with K-12 education "to better
prepare students for the rigors of higher education." 

CHALLENGE TWO: Demonstrating the Wonder of Discovery While Helping
Students to Master Rigorous Content: Colleges that educate teachers
must ensure that content knowledge is emphasized as well as
pedagogical training.  Businesses should work with colleges,
universities and school districts to provide summer experiences or
internships for teachers, encourage contacts between teachers (and
students as appropriate) and professionals in S&T fields, and provide
staff development to expand teacher knowledge.  S&T-based businesses
should be involved reviewing and revising science education
standards.  School districts "should be encouraged to seek innovative
and promising solutions to improve math and science teaching and
learning." 

CHALLENGE THREE: Acknowledging the Professionalism of Teachers: State
governments should work with boards of education to implement high
quality certification programs for S&T professionals, work together
to develop systems of pension and license reciprocity, and work with
school districts to increase teachers' starting salaries "to better
reflect local labor market conditions." 

The report does not propose incentives to spur the various
stakeholders to implement its recommendations. While it highlights
examples of successful programs and activities around the country,
its recommendations do not include a mechanism to provide
coordination, evaluate progress, and ensure dissemination of lessons
learned and best practices. 

The approximately 50-page report is available in pdf format on the
CED web site at   http://www.ced.org . 

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Audrey T. Leath
Media and Government Relations Division
The American Institute of Physics
fyi{at}aip.org    www.aip.org/gov
(301) 209-3094
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